CHAPTER III
THE BEGINNING OF THE FIGHT.
True to her promise, Bess did go often to see her boy. For several weeks it was her habit to spend a part of every afternoon with him; and the lad’s evident pleasure at her coming made her feel richly rewarded for the time she gave up to him. He at once recognized her step in the hall, and she always found him sitting up on the sofa, eagerly waiting for her to come to him.
Mrs. Allen rarely appeared, and the two had the room to themselves, while Bess either read aloud, or talked to Fred as she sewed on some bit of work she had brought with her. To her mother she confessed that after her usual call her mind was a blank, for she tried so hard to think of some bright, interesting conversation for the lonely, sad boy. Her patient was not an easy one to manage, for though Fred rarely complained, during the long hours he was alone he brooded over his trouble
